


And The Bedrooms Of Our Friends

by pikestaff



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Cuddling, Developing Relationship, F/F, Happy Ending, Prompt Fill, slight deviation from canon, some minor angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 05:25:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16079345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikestaff/pseuds/pikestaff
Summary: Solona Amell and Neria Surana remember a lot of things.  They remember their lives from before they were mages... well, a little bit, at least.  Mostly they remember the time they spent together in the Circle - and those memories keep them going when the Blight suddenly rips them apart.  Gift fill for the Black Emporium Exchange 2018.





	And The Bedrooms Of Our Friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inquisitor_tohru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitor_tohru/gifts).



There were a lot of things that Solona Amell remembered at night when she sat by the campfire as she and the others traveled around Ferelden during the Blight.

Mostly she remembered a girl.

Solona and Neria Surana first became friends when Neria was new to the Circle. They were about the same age, but Neria didn’t become a mage until later, so she showed up later.

The other kids were nice enough to her, at first. She was a curiosity, being both an elf and a bit older than most newcomers were when they arrived, and they poked at her like an exotic creature in a cage. But eventually their curiosity wore off, and was replaced instead with a sort of mocking incredulity. How was it, they thought, that someone who was ten years old didn’t know even the most basic spells? Even the other elves knew those!

They mocked her ruthlessly until Solona got tired of it and decided to step in.

And by “step in”, she meant she punched someone in the nose and then singed off his eyebrows with a snap of her fingers.

Oh, she definitely got in trouble for that! The templars put her in a cold cell for a day, and then told her that her punishment would be more severe next time. But she was happy with herself, afterward, and as soon as she left the cell she went back up to Neria and held out her hand. “I’m Solona,” she said. “Nice to meet you.”

Nobody messed with either of them after that.

Well. None of the other kids, anyway.

  


—

  


Neria remembered things too. It helped chase the fear away as the tower was being beset by demons on all sides.

She remembered when she’d first met Solona when she was much younger. Friendship was an odd beast for Neria, who had been quiet when she lived in the alienage. She had had a few friends, but not good ones, and they were all elves, of course. Humans, she thought, were funny creatures. But Solona was willing to punch someone in the face for her, and that had to count for something.

So it was that they began to spend a lot of time together. Solona was always very optimistic. “I think someday, if we keep practicing our magic, we’ll get to leave and be Grey Wardens,” she said once.

“Are they even real?” Neria asked, because she had only heard of them in stories.

“I think so! At least, that’s what the older kids say, and they’re smarter than the younger ones I think. They get to read all the best books in the library. Those have got to say something about Wardens, en’t they? And besides, why else would they teach us how to fight? One of the Enchanters said if you’re very good you might get to go live in a castle or something. But what do you fight in a castle? Nothing, that’s what.”

Neria had never thought about this before, and she had to concede that it was a very good point. So they talked about Wardens a lot after that. They were brave, and heroic, and could go anywhere they wanted. What a life it seemed to be!

Their admiration for the Wardens got out, though. A templar overheard them talking about traveling around Thedas and took it the wrong way, and before the two of them knew it they were sitting in a small uncomfortable room and being admonished for plotting to escape. First Enchanter Irving was there, and he tried to be kind as he explained that it wasn’t best to talk about these things. Neria was kind of afraid that Solona was going to punch him in the nose, because that seemed like the type of thing she would do, but she held back admirably. She was angry afterward, though. She took Neria into a shadowy corner of the dormitory and held out her pinky. “We _will_ be Wardens,” she said. “Together. Pinky promise.”

Neria didn’t know what a pinky promise was. Some kind of shemlen ritual, apparently? But she was touched by the gesture, and they pinky promised.

  


They started to hold hands a lot after that, and Neria liked it.

  


—

  


They _both_ had fond memories of what came next.

Talk of Wardens faded into the distance as they got older, because they had something new and interesting in their lives: each other. At first it was simply the case that they were very good friends, but soon they started to feel tingly and warm around each other, especially when they held hands. And so it was that they grew very close to each other and one day, when they were both a little older, they kissed. Neither had done it before, and it was kind of strange and a bit wet, but not necessarily in a bad way. It was something they could share together that the templars couldn’t take from them, and it was good.

After that they always liked to be touching each other in some capacity. Not that they always could. In classes they had to do their best not to look suspicious. But afterward, when they had reading or studying to do, they would find a secluded spot where they could sort of flop on each other and relax. Sometimes they would get distracted and forego their studying entirely in favor of cuddling, but that was okay with both of them.

Sometimes, in very hushed whispers, they would talk about leaving together. Solona was so young when she was taken to the Circle that she couldn’t really remember life before it beyond a few highlights, so her memories were rather optimistic. “I don’t know where my family is but we could probably find them if we searched,” she said one day. They had ostensibly been studying but now they were taking (yet another) cuddle break, and right now they were leaning against each other.

Neria had stronger memories of her family, but they weren’t particularly good ones. She remembered living in the Denerim alienage and that it was filthy, flea-infested, and often cold. She had been trapped there the same way she was trapped now in the Circle. On the plus side, there were had been no templars, and that was an appealing thought. “We could go wherever we wanted,” she said, because she realized then that what she desired most was what she had never quite had: freedom. "And we'd be together," she added, which sounded even better.

“That sounds nice,” said Solona, and she interlaced her fingers with Neria’s. “Do you remember your family?” she asked then. “I can hardly remember mine.”

Neria did remember a little bit, although the memories grew increasingly faded with each passing year. She had a few memories that were stronger than the others, and unfortunately one of those was very negative. “They weren’t happy that I was a mage,” she said.

“ _I’m_ happy that you’re a mage,” said Solona firmly. “If you weren’t, I wouldn’t have met you.”

Then they were quiet for a bit and Neria ventured, “Do you still think we can be Wardens someday?”

Solona hadn’t thought about that dream in a while, but she nodded firmly. “We’ll go out and save Thedas together,” she said.

  


—

  


The memories weren’t always positive, and sometimes when Solona was particularly stressed after a battle she’d remember the unpleasant things.

The Harrowing, for example, was bad.

All apprentices knew two things: One, that there was some sort of secret test that they would have to endure before becoming full-fledged mages, and two, that some apprentices didn’t come back from it. Were they expelled from the tower? Did they get to leave? …did… they die? No one knew for sure, but it had everyone on edge, especially as they grew closer to that age.

Neria was picked to do hers first, and Solona was terrified. She woke up and went to her bed and it was empty, and flew into a panic which then turned to anger that anyone would dare take her away. The worst part was that she didn’t know what had happened to her. Had she died? Solona felt utterly helpless until an enchanter _finally_ told her to calm down because she hadn’t died.

But _not dying_ was only a slight improvement how things were, because she was still gone, and no one seemed to be willing to tell Solona where she was. She was angry, but she couldn’t raise her voice, because that would make the templars suspicious. So she sat in a corner and fumed and fretted while demons crouched at the edges of her mind. Making a deal with one of them had never been so tempting as it was right now. In fact, she was so desperate that she was actually considering it when Neria returned. She looked weak and pale. Solona rushed to her. “Are you alright?” she asked. “What happened? What did they do to you?”

Neria didn’t want to talk about it much. She sat herself down, largely because she felt somewhat ill. She kept looking nervously at the enchanters, who in turn were giving her warning looks. “I… I’m sorry,” she said. “I have to move upstairs now. But you can soon, right? Do you promise?” She held out a pinky. It was childish, but earnest. “Pinky promise?”

They pinky promised and the rest of Solona’s memory of that incident was an angry blur.

  


—

  


Neria remembered that she and Solona hardly saw each other again after that, because she was upstairs with the mages and Solona was downstairs with the other apprentices. A few months later, though, Solona had her Harrowing. And Neria knew exactly what that entailed and she was _terrified_ , but Solona made it through, because of course she did.

And she was thrilled to know that she would get to be with Solona again, but then something weird happened.

Namely, Solona got tied up in something with another apprentice, Jowan, and the result was that she was expelled from the tower… as a Warden.

She didn’t know this until it was almost too late, because mages and apprentices didn’t really interact with each other. But she did manage to sneak away and find Solona as she was gathering up her things and leaving. “Solona,” she said.

Solona turned to face her. “Neria? I…” she looked down. “I already asked them if you could come with me. They told me no.”

Neria had assumed that, but that wasn’t what she was here to say. She took Solona’s hands in hers. “Go out there and be a Warden, for both of us,” she said.

And Solona had looked at her with fire in her eyes. “I’m coming back,” she said. “For you.”

Neria didn’t know what to believe, but she thought she could try to believe that.

And then Solona was gone.

  


—

  


Solona remembered that promise that she had made.

She remembered it as she willed herself to live through the Joining.

She remembered it as they traveled through the mud and grime that was Ferelden, and eventually they ended up at the Circle tower.

She’d been expecting things to go pretty straightforwardly here, but she wasn’t expecting the demons.

Not that those stopped her as she marched through the tower and killed every demon she found and checked behind every bed and inside every wardrobe. Eventually the others asked her what she was doing, and she didn’t answer because she was too busy, because she had a mission, because…

Because…

  


—

  


Neria heard her approach. When she looked out from the desk she was hiding under, she saw Grey Warden boots, and her heart stopped.

Could it be? Could it be that Solona was still alive? Could it be that she had come for her—? “Hello?” she tentatively asked.

The boots stopped.

And then Solona was crouched down in front of her, smiling. “I promised I’d come upstairs for you eventually,” she said.

Then they left the tower together. Solona made sure of that. Grey Wardens had the Right of Conscription and could recruit who they wanted. Neria hadn’t known that, but was happy to hear it.

“It’s a rough life, you know?” Solona told her later. They’d finished traveling for the night and were now sitting at a campfire out in the woods. “But… I think it’s better than the Circle. And I think you’ll agree.”

“As long as I get to be with you,” said Neria. “As long as I’m with you I’ll be happy.” She leaned against Solona’s shoulder. “I didn’t know humans put so much honor in their pinkies.”

Solona laughed and kissed her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it, inquisitor_tohru! ❤


End file.
